<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Explanation by EnbyChu</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763376">Explanation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnbyChu/pseuds/EnbyChu'>EnbyChu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>OC Background Stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Original Character(s), Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:14:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,140</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763376</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnbyChu/pseuds/EnbyChu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wilmarcus answers some long-standing questions for Princess Varalika, but can't help but hide some of the full truth.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>OC Background Stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2109162</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Explanation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wilmarcus sat on her tidy bed, patiently waiting for her charge to meet her. She knew Varalika would have questions, now that she had seen the portrait of the late king and queen. It was clear Varalika was not their biological daughter, and Wilmarcus knew how curious the princess could be.</p><p>“Wil, are you in here? I uh, I want to talk.” Varalika’s voice was hesitant through the door.</p><p>“Come in Vara. Sit with me.” Wilmarcus instructed, and Varalika came to sit next to her on the bed. They sat in silence for a while, Varalika preparing her questions and Wilmarcus steeling her mind.</p><p> </p><p>Varalika broke the silence. “So what’s the truth about my parents? I know I’m supposed to be the princess but like. The king and queen don’t look like me at all. I have Fae ears but they both look human. Did they adopt me?”</p><p>Wilmarcus felt herself tense up, but made sure it did not show on her face. “I have not been fully truthful with you, Varalika. The king and queen were in fact your godparents, and made you their heir since they did not have children of their own. They had the option of magical conception, but they were such good friends of your parents that…”</p><p>“So what actually happened to the king and queen then?” Varalika interrupted, excited to hear about the king and queen she had only met as a baby. She seemed to miss the part about her birth parents, which Wilmarcus was happy to gloss over.</p><p>“Ah, I never did tell you that story, did I? It’s not one the Vilhelmic Order makes public since it is a point of great shame among us. In fact, most of the paladins from back then are retired… oh right, the story. When you were quite little, far too young to remember, the king and queen had received an invitation to a scientific conference overseas. They insisted I remain here to watch over you, and instead of me two of the finest paladins we had accompanied them. A few weeks passed, and well… only one paladin returned. They had been attacked at sea and the king and queen were declared lost at sea. Months later and they were declared dead; the wreckage of the ship has still never been found.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence crept back into the room as Varalika took in the story. She had never known the king and queen, but she knew that she was royalty from a young age and had always wondered why the king and queen were gone. She had never really been sad about it, since she had always had Wilmarcus looking out for her, but at least there was a sense of closure. Lost in thought, Varalika did not notice Wilmarcus struggling to hold back tears.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you for explaining, Wil. I guess I understand why you never told me, that must have been really hard on you and I’m sure you didn’t want to have to relive it.” Varalika had always been deeply understanding with those she trusted; she knew that when Wilmarcus hid something from her, it was always for a very specific reason. “I am really curious, though,” Varalika continued, not noticing Wilmarcus tensing up, “what happened to my birth parents?”</p><p>The question she had been afraid of. The circumstances of Varalika’s birth were a painful subject for Wilmarcus, and she was unsure how much she could tell the princess without breaking.</p><p>“Ah yes, you would be curious about that, wouldn’t you… well, your mother was one of the finest paladins in the kingdom. We… worked closely alongside each other. When she and her… partner were to have a child, she was ecstatic.” Wilmarcus paused to check on the princess. Varalika seemed deeply intrigued though, so Wilmarcus continued. It pained her to minimize such an important event in both of their lives. “Your mother and her partner were very close to the king and queen, so they were delighted when your parents accepted their proposal for you to become their heir.” Wilmarcus paused to collect herself. Varalika seemed not to pick up on the pain in Wilmarcus’ voice.</p><p>“When the king and queen planned for their voyage overseas, your mother was happy to accompany them. Your other… parent stayed behind to take care of you, of course. They never expected anything to go wrong…” Wilmarcus finally broke, tears streaming down her face. Varalika was stunned; she had never seen Wilmarcus cry in her entire life. She rushed to her bedroom to grab a tissue box and came right back, now sitting right up against her guardian to comfort her.</p><p> </p><p>“My mother was the paladin who didn’t come back,” Varalika answered the question she no longer had to ask. Princess and paladin sat in silence for a few minutes, before Wilmarcus spoke once again.</p><p>“Thank you, Varalika. I appreciate the gesture.” Wilmarcus had composed herself again, steeling herself for any more questions.</p><p>Varalika, sensing that Wilmarcus would need to be left alone soon, asked her final question. “What about my other parent?”</p><p>Wilmarcus had to squeeze her eyes shut to prevent herself from telling the truth and breaking down again. “They… when they found out your mother was lost at sea, presumed dead… they physically couldn’t bear to live without her.” It wasn’t a total lie; a part of her had died when she had learned that Sigfrid had not returned. They had been sworn partners, in knighthood and in marriage. The though of raising their child alone broke something within Wilmarcus, and she had not been the same since. The paladins of the Vilhelmic Order were scolded if they ever asked about her well-being, and had come to expect the colder, less open version of their leader over time.</p><p>Varalika knew she could ask no more of her guardian, and simply sat holding her for a while longer. She finally understood why Wilmarcus had never told her: she had never truly worked through the pain of the loss of her closest friends. At least, she believed she understood.</p><p> </p><p>After a while, Varalika got up to leave. “Goodnight Wil!” She called out. Wilmarcus smiled back in response, her eyes still sad. Wilmarcus watched Varalika leave, and her eyes caught on the metal section of Varalika’s tail. A full foot-long section of her tail was made entirely of a biometal alloy. It was a genetic quirk found only in those descended from ancient androgynoids, and a reminder of the truth Wilmarcus had kept from her child.</p><p> </p><p>As Wilmarcus prepared to shower before bed, she felt her biometal right leg ache.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Months later, Varalika was overjoyed when Wilmarcus told her that it was possible her mother might still be alive. What she did not know is that Wilmarcus slept peacefully for the first time in twenty years.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>